Marble and similar stones e.g., the stones which can be worked like marble, such as, for example, granite and semi-marble limestone exhibit characteristics of workability, stability, durability and coloring such as to render these types of stone to be particularly suitable for use in the building industry. Moreover, because these stones can be readily smoothed and polished, they can be used as an outstanding decorative stone.
Blocks of marble and of similar materials are commonly cut into slabs which are subjected successively to various treatments such as smoothing and polishing. Once treated, such slabs can be reduced to the desired dimensions and the thickness thereof is somewhat reduced.
There is a strong need to provide slabs of marble or of similar materials having a thickness which is somewhat reduced, for example slabs of marble or of similar materials having a thickness of 5 mm.
The known cutting blocks for sawing machines for sawing stone blocks, such as the cutting blocks according to U.S. Pat. No. 1,563,256, do not allow one to obtain slabs of marble having a reduced thickness, that is less than 10 mm, due to the size of the forks supporting the blades. Furthermore, the known cutting blocks according to U.S. Pat. No. 2,554,678 are not warp-preventing guide for the blades placed beside it and have such a distance between the tie-bars that it causes the accumulation of the abrasive mixture necessary for sawing, as well as dirt on the cutting block.
The problem underlying the present invention is that of providing a cutting block for a sawing machine for sawing stone blocks which have structural and functional characteristics to satisfy the aforesaid strong need to obtain slabs of marble or of similar materials having a thickness which is somewhat reduced, and at the same time to avoid the drawbacks exhibited by the cutting blocks of the prior art.